


The More I Get of You the Stranger it Feels

by SalamanderGoo



Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Arguing, Idk it's just fun, Kissing, M/M, Slow Burn, They kind of accidentally fall in love?, kind of, medium burn?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21515119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalamanderGoo/pseuds/SalamanderGoo
Summary: While on tour, in the middle of a heated argument far too early in the morning, Dan and Brian kiss before falling asleep in the same bed.  After desperately trying to navigate what it means, Brian just wants to forget it.  But as he and Dan work to get close again, he finds it's the only thing he can think about.Also he has a Maine Coon named Hadron who is very helpful in his emotional journey.
Relationships: Background Barry Kramer/Suzy Berhow, Dan Avidan/Brian Wecht
Comments: 5
Kudos: 16
Collections: Game Grumps Holiday Exchange 2019





	The More I Get of You the Stranger it Feels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [NoMansWindow2846](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoMansWindow2846/gifts).



“Oh my god, why are you always like this?” Dan ran a hand through his drying hair, the damp curls sticking to his stubble.

Brian just glared at him, half a snarl in the back of his throat. “Right, I forgot, whenever anything happens, it’s always my fault!”

“In this case, yeah. You’re the one who was supposed to be keeping an eye on things! I had to get the backup recordings set before we could leave, and I-”

“Which means I had to make sure everything else was ready and packed!” Brian’s eyes narrowed more, his voice getting louder. “God forbid you actually lend a hand for once!”

“Oh, I need to lend a hand?” Dan laughed dryly. “We’re moving offices! I need to stay on top of recording, I need to be in constant contact to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, I need to be ready for anything, and god forbid I’m not in the mood to deal with your antics!”

“My antics?” Brian felt like he was about to explode, absolutely pissed. “Right, because my antics include wanting to get shit ready for our tour, which, might I remind you, isn’t only me!” He began to pace, not taking his eyes off Dan.

“Oh please, like I don’t help.” Dan crossed his arms, leaning back against the door. “You blow everything out of proportion!”

Distantly, Brian wondered how there wasn’t anyone banging on the door because ‘for the love of god it’s half past one at night shut up’, but he didn’t care. He was angry and tired and didn’t care who won this argument, he just wanted to get through it and collapse into bed and try to get a few hours of sleep. “I don’t! I would just appreciate it if you could look past your Jupiter sized ego for half a second, maybe you would recognize that other people fucking exist!”

“Oh my god, shut up!”

“Fucking make me!”

They were both glaring at each other and the energy in the room crackled. The silence was a stark difference from the yelling just a second before. Dan took a few steps towards Brian, and their height difference had never felt so intense before, Brian swallowing as he stared up at him. Dan felt more unpredictable than he ever had, and Brian barely held back a flinch as Dan grabbed the front of his shirt. He almost gasped as Dan kissed him roughly, the energy getting hotter, like a blue flame was lighting up the room.

Brian’s hands grabbed the back of Dan’s shirt, clinging tightly, feeling like the air was being forcibly pulled from his lungs. The anger died off, fading into a strong feeling of absolute confusion combined with willingness to let this happen. Dan pulled away after a moment, blinking slowly, breathing like he’d been held underwater. “Well?” Brian couldn’t find a response, all the words in his head dying before they could reach his lips. “Well, looks like I finally found a way to shut you up.” He grinned, and Brian rolled his eyes, pulling him down into another kiss, if only to get rid of his stupid pleased smile.

Dan’s alarm was loud the next morning, and Brian realized he was warm. Warmer than usual. As he tried to roll over, there was an arm preventing him, and his face flushed with color when he realized what had happened. They’d fallen asleep after their fight. And ended up cuddling. “...Dan. Wake up.”

Dan rolled over, curling up with a tired groan, giving Brian a chance to get up and stop the alarm on Dan’s phone, grabbing a clean shirt from his bag. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Dan, just going straight to the bathroom. “We need to be out by 7. We have a long drive ahead of us.” He locked the door, leaning back against it as something in his gut twisted.

He lightly hit his head back against the door, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn’t believe Dan had kissed him last night, couldn’t believe any of that happened, that that he’d been so stupid to let his walls down enough to let Dan in. He caught his reflection in the mirror and sighed, letting the scowl drop from his lips and trying to ease the tension in his shoulders. He took a short shower, letting the water stay cold enough that goosebumps broke out across his skin, as if he was trying to wash away any emotions of the night before.

They were best friends and Brian didn’t know how they’d let it happen. Well, no. Dan’s best friend was Arin, a thought that made him feel oddly bitter.

As he toweled off his hair, he shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thought. He wasn’t five, and frankly, it didn’t matter who Dan considered his best friend, it didn’t matter because their night drunk on anger wasn’t going to change anything, he refused. He couldn’t… he couldn’t lose Dan. He wouldn’t because it didn’t matter. He’d forgotten to take his contacts out last night, of course he had, the argument distracting him, and then Dan distracting him.

He took a deep breath as he finished getting dressed, taking a few minutes to brush his teeth and steel himself for facing Dan again.

But when he got out of the bathroom, Dan was just sitting on the bed, hair pulled back with a sparkly scrunchie as he read something on his phone. He looked totally unbothered, but took a wide berth around Brian to avoid touching him when he stood.

“You’re all packed up, right?”

“Um, yeah.” Brian watched Dan a moment before packing the last of his things and taking his glasses out of the case, unplugging the phone with a nervous smile. Dan didn’t even look at him. “Sung texted me. They’re ready to go when we…” Dan didn’t even let him finish, just sweeping out of the room with his bag. “Cool.” He sighed, shoving down the upset feeling in his chest, just following.

In the lobby, Dan was chatting with their manager as Brian returned the room key, Meouch siding up next to him. “Thank god we didn’t have to sleep on the tour bus last night, am I right?” He laughed, but it died off when Brian didn’t even smile. “You and Dan were fighting last night.”

“It was over nothing.” Brian frowned. “Christ, you were down the hall, were we really yelling that loud?” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry, I know it was late.” He’d nearly forgotten the fight, focused on the fact that Dan had kissed him, but now the thought just made his stomach twist even more, making him feel sick.

“It’s no big deal. Are… you okay? I know how you are.”

Brian bit back the urge to snap at him, he didn’t need to start unnecessary arguments, especially when Meouch was being so genuinely kind to him. “I’m okay. It’s out of our systems now, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

He looked at the ground a moment before straightening his posture and walking out of the hotel, to where their tour bus was waiting.

The tension was harsh. Dan was his usual peppy self, but he didn’t look at Brian, avoided even brushing by him, didn’t talk to him. Brian was quiet, staying curled up in a seat towards the back of the main area on their bus, his nose buried in a book, music blasting through his headphones. He wasn’t reading it though, just staring at the words like they were the cause of all his problems.

Aside from a few comments from Havve though, no one mentioned it. Brian distantly wondered if they were hoping the tension would dissipate as much as him.

He ended up falling asleep with the book against his chest, glasses skewed on his face as his head leaned on the window. He’d been exhausted the night before, then the fighting with Dan and the aftermath had kept him from getting more than a couple hours of sleep. He was eventually nudged awake by Phobos, the bus stopped in the early afternoon at a diner. His gut still felt twisted into knots, and he was tempted to stay on the bus and just hide and be alone, but the allure of coffee was too strong. He gave in, following Phobos into the diner.

…of fucking course the only seat left was right next to Dan. He considered bolting, but just hesitated a moment before sitting down, keeping himself as far from Dan as he could, narrowly avoiding falling out of his chair. He quietly ordered himself a cup of coffee, listening as everyone else ordered their food. He just couldn’t figure out why he was so bothered.

It didn’t have to mean anything.

He wondered why he wanted it to mean something as he dumped sugar packets into his coffee, not even caring about the light teasing over his sugar addiction. He just stirred the coffee and thought. And thought. And kept thinking until they went back out to the bus.

As he sat down in his spot, pulling on headphones, he kept getting a nagging feeling that he was just… missing something. That he was utterly oblivious to the reason last night seemed to mean so much. Why he felt so worked up over a few kisses.

Finally, as they were getting to their next location, the bus driver parking for the night, he decided that he wasn’t going to care. After all, how hard could it be?

He laughed with Sung as they got dinner in the rest stop, played chess with Phobos on the tour bus as the sun went down, and threw a pillow at Meouch when he was singing off key to be obnoxious. By the time they were winding down to get some sleep, Dan met his eyes once to give him a tiny smile, which untwisted his gut far faster than he’d ever be willing to admit.

Their last shows went by in a blur. He and Dan hadn’t talked, much less about what happened, but Brian was staunch in his belief that talking wouldn’t make things less awkward.  
~  
By the time they got home, Brian’s physical exhaustion was overwhelming. Maybe he’d talk to Dan, but first he was going to take the two days and the weekend he had off of work to just sleep things off. He stopped by the kennel to pick up Hadron, sighing as he buried his face in the cat’s fur, earning an indignant ‘mrrp’. After a moment, he purred, licking Brian’s hair. “I missed you too,” he mumbled, voice muffled by the long fur.

Hadron seemed just as happy that Brian was finally home, rubbing against his ankles at every chance, following him around the house, and just being cutely annoying. The night before Brian had to return to work, he stared up at the ceiling with Hadron laying on his stomach under the blankets, purring up a storm.

“Maybe I should just stay home with you tomorrow.” Brian closed his eyes, heaving an exhausted sigh. “I’ll become a nomad. You and I can run away into the jungle together and live off of berry bushes and frogs.” Hadron meowed, making Brian laugh. “You’re right, you’d never survive without your chicken treats and squeaky toys. And I could never deal with the guilt of cooking a frog.” He rolled onto his side, smiling when Hadron stuck his head out from under the blankets. “Well, I guess I’ll play it by ear tomorrow.” He let Hadron’s quiet purring lull him to sleep, only to be woken in the morning by a paw batting at his nose.

“My alarm hasn’t gone off yet,” he mumbled, refusing to open his eyes. Hadron’s batting got more insistent, finally getting him to open his eyes. “…I’m late!”

He’d forgotten to turn his alarm back on the night before after getting back from tour, rushing to get dressed and grab his work bag. He dumped a can of food into Hadron’s bowl, giving the cat a rushed goodbye before locking his apartment door and rushing to his car. He was only about a half hour late, almost tripping as he got into the office.

“Brian! Hey, I was getting worried you might be sick.” Arin came up to him with a grin. “Dan said the tour went great!”

“He did?” Brian frowned, looking around before setting his stuff at his desk.

“He’s talking with Ross. Or…fighting with him maybe, I can never tell with them.” Arin shrugged, eyeing Brian with scrutiny.

Brian shifted under his gaze. “What?”

“Something happened while you and Dan were gone.”

“No it didn’t, I… how did you… what?” Brian had never been great at lying.

“I know Dan. And I like to think I know you, except I probably don’t because you’re so damn guarded all the time.” He shook his head. “Dan came over to see me yesterday. He was acting weird, seemed off whenever I brought you up. Sung said he heard that you guys had a fight. You didn’t talk during the last few days you were gone. Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“Meouch is a gossiping bastard, that’s what,” Brian spat before he processed anything else. He sighed, sitting down at his desk. “It’s… not a big deal, okay? It was just a dumb argument, we were tired.” He could feel Arin raise an eyebrow without even looking at him. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“There’s a surprise,” Arin muttered, and Brian had a feeling he wasn’t supposed to hear it, but he did. And he was tempted to start an argument, frustration boiling his blood, but decided against it. “Look, Brian, you can talk to me if you need to, okay?”

“...alright.” Brian just sighed, turning to his computer to pretend like he wasn’t pissed off. He wasn’t even sure if he was mad, per se, he just didn’t know what he felt. He was mad at Dan. He knew he was mad at Dan. He sighed, opening a blank document. Maybe he could start to untangle his emotions if he wrote them down.

Ten minutes later he didn’t have much, just ‘Dan kissed me’ and ‘I’m mad’ with various punctuation that he felt nicely represented his frustration and confusion. Hearing Suzy and Barry flirting certainly wasn’t helping either. With a frustrated sigh, he just deleted the file, pausing when he heard footsteps. “...Hi Dan. Did you have a good weekend?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dan nodded, biting his lip, and Brian had to keep himself from staring at his lips. “I… wanted to see if we’re good? After everything that happened. I know what… I did was messed up, and I don’t want you to hate me.” He bit down harder on his lip.

“Hate you?” Brian frowned. “Why would you-”

“I took advantage of you!” Dan flinched at how loud his voice was. “I… I kissed you and didn’t even ask, and then you wouldn’t even look at me because I fucked it all up.”

Brian sighed. “Dan, god, I don’t hate you. You… shocked me. And I didn’t know how to react. I’m not… I was scared, Dan.” He couldn’t bring himself to admit that he was also kind of pissed but still not sure why. “But god, man. You ignored me for almost a week.”

“I know.” Dan sat on the edge of Brian’s desk.

“I just want things to go back to how they were.” Brian didn’t miss the flicker of something in Dan’s expression, but it seemed to disappear almost as quick. “Is… that okay?”

“Totally.” Dan nodded, but something seemed almost inauthentic. “We can forget it ever happened, okay?” He opened his arms, offering a hug.

With a small smile, Brian stood, accepting it, though for some reason, it felt odd. “Thanks. No more weirdness?”

“No more weirdness.”

And with their promise, they moved on. They announced a new album, filmed music videos, signed CDs until they thought their hands might fall off, and things carried on as normal. They forgot about anything ever happening between them.

Brian pretended he’d forgotten, at least. He ignored the odd feeling of loneliness in his apartment, sighing when his neighbors upstairs were too loud, hid the feelings in spoiling Hadron. Nothing was wrong, at all. No one had any reason to suspect a thing.  
~  
It had been nearly three months since the kiss, the less than cold dead of winter, and Dan and Brian looked perfectly natural to an outsider. However, there wasn’t a single person in the office who was an outsider. Except maybe Jory. He was a sweet kid, good at what he did, just maybe a little unobservant.

It was Ross and Vernon who finally approached them. “Why are you being weird?”

“Ross! You said you’d have tact!” Vernon shot him a look, giving Dan and Brian an apologetic glance.

Dan frowned, looking up at them from where he was sitting on the floor. “Weird? What do you mean?”

Brian just raised an eyebrow, pulling his legs up on the couch. “We’re the picture of normalcy, Ross.” The sarcasm was thick in his voice, but he was silently trying to figure out what he meant.

Vernon sighed. “You’ve been acting strange for months now.”

“Based on that, it would imply it’s normal, wouldn’t it?” Brian gave Vernon the stare he’d perfected during his work as a professor. A mix of condescending and annoyed, usually reserved for people who thought they knew more than him but immediately proved otherwise.

Ross rolled his eyes as Vernon clambered for a response. “Brian. Fine, something changed between you two. Is that better Professor Wecht?”

“…yes.” He crossed his arms. “Regardless, everything is fine. Why do you two even care?”

“Because… we’re friends? And we care about you guys?” He sighed. “Things that go on around here aren’t exactly secret you know.”

Dan laughed at that. “Like what? Suzy and Barry dating? The loudest secret in history?”

Vernon shook his head a little. “What’s going on with you two?”

Brian gave a heaving sigh, trying to convey his exasperation. “There’s nothing going on. Are you worried we’re getting distant in our old age or something?” He smirked when Dan swatted at his leg with an offended sound.

“I mean, kinda?” Ross shrugged. “You guys have just seemed kind of distant lately, so… yeah, you pretty much hit the nail on the head”

“As opposed to the point,” he muttered under his breath, looking down at Dan. “Fine. Why don’t you come over tonight Dan? We can reconnect or whatever. Plus, Hadron likes you for some reason.”

“Cats love me, it’s great.” Dan giggled, but something in his voice sounded hesitant. “But, uh, yeah sure. Only if you’re paying for food though.”

“Deal.” Brian shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m inviting you to my place. You’re the one with a whole ass house.”

“You can just come to my place next time. No take backs. I want to pet your cat because he’s a giant nerd.”

“Giant is right.” Brian settled back on the couch to work, looking up at Ross and Vernon. “Satisfied?”

“…We’ll see, won’t we?”

“You don’t need to be ominous.”

“Do too!”

Brian shook his head as they left. “Kids.”

Dan snorted. “You were their age once too. Many many years ago.”

“Don’t make me out to be old, Avidan.” Brian couldn’t help the small smile that made its way onto his face. Being with Dan hadn’t felt this comfortable in months.

He’d missed this. Their dumb banter that meant nothing and went nowhere until they were laughing too hard to come up with anything else. Coming up with song ideas that they both knew wouldn’t work, just to make each other laugh. He missed Dan, even though he’d been so close the whole time.

He ordered takeout that evening, Hadron happily eating his dinner from his bowl. “You shed on everything.” Brian brushed his shirt off, long gray and white fur falling to the floor. Hadron just meowed at him, pleased with himself.

There was a knock at the door, Brian grinning when he opened it to greet Dan. “Hey, good to see you.”

“You too! It’s been forever since I came over.” Dan laughed when Hadron wrapped around his ankles, purring loudly. “Hey kitty. Did you miss me?”

“Of course he did. He’s a sweet cat.” Brian leaned against the back of the couch. “Make yourself comfortable. I ordered food, and it should be getting here soon.”

“Sounds great. I’ve needed this, thanks Bri.” Dan scooped Hadron up with a little bit of difficulty, heading to sit on the couch and pet his long fur. “He’s so perfect.”

“He really is a good cat. I’m lucky.” Brian sat next to him, Hadron stretching out between them to get both of them to pet him at once. “He loves attention, no wonder he likes you.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you both hog the spotlight.” Brian grinned, letting out an undignified, high pitched sound at the pillow Dan swung at his head.

Dan laughed as it made contact, nearly knocking Brian off the couch. “Danny wins!”

Brian kicked at Dan’s general direction, managing to kick him in the leg with a grin. “Sure you do.” He grinned as Dan leaned his head back, laughing harder, his wild hair falling around his shoulders. Dan looked so alluring, and something in Brian’s chest ached in a way he hadn’t let it in years, an almost worn out longing and urge to be even closer.

Hadron meowed loudly, and a moment later, there was a knock at the door. “Oh, that must be the food.” Brian sighed, patting Hadron’s head. “Stand down, attack cat.”

Dan held Hadron down, grinning when he was tossed a box of noodles and chopsticks. “This is what I’ve been needing.”

“Some good old-fashioned bro time?” Brian smirked as he clicked his chopsticks, flipping on the tv. “I’ll just throw something on for background noise.” He hummed. “It’s been too long since we were able to actually hang out. Without being weird about it.”

“To be fair, we’re two exceptionally weird people.” Dan sighed. “I know things were… bad between us. I’m just glad I’m not losing you. I know I’m not always the best towards you, and god knows I take you for granted too often.” He ran a hand through his hair, balancing his takeout box on his knee. “I… just, sorry.” He shook his head.

“No, I get it. I was scared to lose you.” Brian frowned, stabbing at his noodles with his chopsticks a moment, deep in thought. “But I’m not going to. Because things are fine and we’re okay.” He let out a soft sigh, looking up at Dan.

Dan nodded, reaching out to ruffle Brian’s hair affectionately, but let out a shocked sound when Hadron tried to steal his food. “No! Wait, no!”

Brian laughed, nudging Hadron’s fluffy head with a bright grin. “Dumb cat.” He ran his fingers through his hair to fix it. “He’s good but he’s dumb.”

“Very dumb. He gets it from his dad.”

“Dan, he’s a shelter cat- hey, wait!” Brian gasped, offended. “Did you just-?”

“Yup.” Dan winked, and it was all Brian could do not to blush.

“Shut up, I’m smart.” He leaned heavily on Dan to try and knock him over, but ended up just leaning on him as they ate, letting a tv show play.

Dan leaned back after he’d finished, letting his arm fall around Brian’s shoulder, holding him. Brian had forgotten how nice it was to have Dan hold him, half curling into the embrace. “That hit the spot.” He gave a soft yawn, smiling contently.

“Well, I’ve got good news. I stopped after work and picked up the good kind of chocolate ice cream. And the tiny sprinkles you like.”

Dan grinned brightly. “The tiny sprinkles?”

“The tiny ones.”

“God bless you, Brian Wecht.” He laughed, letting go of Brian to take care of their trash. “I’ll get us both bowls.”

“You’re perfect and pretty!” Brian pulled Hadron onto his lap, earning an annoyed mew, but he settled in, curling his tail up by his head.

“I know.” Dan started humming a soft melody, just barely audible over the clinking of bowls in the kitchen. Brian softly closed his eyes, the purring from his lap just adding to how calm he was. He was almost asleep when Dan came back. “Hey old man.” He laughed a little, giving him one of the bowls of ice cream. “A cat on your lap on the fucking coziest couch in the world. You look so comfortable.”

“Because I am.” Brian opened his eyes to smile at Dan and start eating. “Plus it’s warm.” He leaned on Dan again as soon as he sat down, smiling when Dan leaned his cheek on top of his head. “And you’re here.” He yawned softly.

“Aw, bud.” Dan laughed, shifting just a little as Hadron stared at him. “I know, right?” Hadron just kept purring, loud and comfy. “Good kitten.”

“He’s not a kitten. He’s old.” Brian smiled nonetheless. 

“Old and a kitten,” Dan debated. He stirred his spoon in his ice cream, the color of the sprinkles bleeding into the melting ice cream. As he took a bite, Brian, stretched his arms out in front of him, yawning again. “Man, you sound tired.”

“It’s the insomnia.” Brian sighed, rubbing his eyes and shoving another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.

“Aw, really?” Dan frowned. “I thought you said it was getting better.”

“It was. Then it started getting bad again and I just feel tired.” He shrugged. “But it’s not really a big deal.”

“It kind of is. You’ve looked tired lately. You need to rest. Don’t make me have to stay here overnight and watch over you to make you sleep.”

“Dan, come on. I’m okay. I’ve dealt with less sleep for longer periods of time.”

“Well, that is also… not good.”

“I was in college for a long time. I pulled all-nighters at least once a week, and that was on a light work load. I can handle a little trouble sleeping.” He put his empty bowl on the coffee table, focusing on pulling the blanket off the back of the couch to get comfy, Hadron still purring contently in his lap.

Dan smiled a little at that, choosing to take the time to get up and take the dishes back to the kitchen, swinging by Brian’s bedroom to grab him a pillow. “You look cozy,” he teased softly.

Brian nodded, wrapped up in a soft blanket with Hadron curled up cutely in his lap. “I am. It’s nice.”

Dan sat back down next to him with a smile, dropping the pillow in his lap. “Get extra comfy my favorite ninja.”

Brian laid down, curling up slightly. “Don’t say that. I’m the only ninja you know.”

Dan laughed, grinning brightly. “That’s why you’re my favorite.”

Brian was quiet a moment. “Stop being sappy. It’s gross.” He pressed his face deeper into the pillow, Hadron climbing up to lay between Brian and the couch. “And you have no recognition of personal space, cat.” Hadron gave a mrrp, unbothered as he laid down.

Dan grinned, changing the channel happily. It was warm and late, Brian closing his eyes as he listened to the show playing and Hadron’s soft purring. It was perfect.

Before long, Brian had fallen asleep, and Dan wasn’t very far behind.

Dan’s alarm woke them the next morning, Brian curled in a ball with his head on Dan’s stomach, Dan awkwardly collapsed into a lying position, one arm around Brian’s shoulder. Hadron hissed at the alarm, laying on the back of the couch.

Brian blearily opened his eyes, groaning. “Fuck, why do you get up so early?”

“I’m high maintenance,” he muttered, slapping at his phone. It finally turned off, and he sighed, slowly sitting up and wincing when he tried to turn his neck. “Ow.”

Brian finally realized the position they were in, his face flushing pink as he quickly sat up. “Sorry for falling asleep on you.”

Dan shrugged, smiling softly, that way that made Brian’s heart do stupid things. “Hey, I fell asleep too, can’t blame you for being comfy.”

Brian gave a small laugh. “Uh, why don’t I make us some breakfast? I’ve got eggs and bagels.”

“Sounds super nice.” Dan ran a hand through his hair. “I think I’ve got some clothes in my work bag. Mind if I take a shower?”

“Go for it. Just throw your dirty clothes in the laundry basket in my bedroom. I’ll give them back once I run them through the washer.”

“Oh, thanks!” Dan grinned, getting up and stretching his arms, Brian quickly looking away and going to feed Hadron.

Things were, as Ross noted, back to normal between them. They hung out more often, and Brian found himself getting used to spending the night on Dan’s couch or falling asleep in his bed. It wasn’t weird when that happened since the bed was so massive. Though he was flustered by the times they woke up curled together. And they tended to fall asleep on the couch when hanging out at Brian’s apartment, so Dan would usually lay down after dinner if they ate, and Brian would just lay next to him or even on top of him because it was comfy.  
~  
After a few more months, summer rapidly approaching, Dan noticed that Brian had clothes at his house and a toothbrush in his bathroom, which was fair since he stayed over so often. And Brian noticed the drawer in his dresser he’d cleared out for Dan to make mornings easier, along with the high maintenance shampoo and conditioner that Dan needed to keep his hair from getting gross.

They didn’t say anything about it though.

At least, not until a spring afternoon during a downpour. Of course, they could always use the rain, but Brian preferred not to go out in it. He didn’t know when he’d become so averse to rain, but he suspected it was during his time in London that he’d gotten so annoyed by it. He was deep in thought, Hadron off in another room, pouncing on his toys and running up and down the hall.

But Brian didn’t notice, his mind too occupied by a certain singer. A certain singer he was pretty sure he was two steps away from living with. And a part of him really didn’t mind the thought. He… really liked the idea of living with Dan actually.

He liked being with Dan, more so than any of his other friends. He… just liked Dan.

He loved him. And hadn’t stopped thinking about him or the time they’d kissed. He wanted to kiss Dan again.

“I’m an idiot,” he whispered to himself.

And that’s how Brian found himself sitting in traffic, the radio silent, his head loud, and his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard, he was pretty sure his joints were creaking at the force. But he needed to see Dan, needed to apologize for being an idiot and not seeing what was staring him dead in the eyes this whole time.

The disappointment when he’d told Dan he wanted to forget everything. All the times he hesitated, all the times they’d doubted each other and the time they spent apart. He needed to tell Dan how sorry he was, how willing he was to try.

He wasn’t ready to face things back when it all started, hardly sure if he was ready to face them now. But Brian was damn sure going to tell Dan how much he loved him, how ready he was to be by his side, even if he was scared. Fear wasn’t going to control him anymore.

The rain was coming down even harder as Brian pulled into the driveway, practically soaked to the bone by the time he made it to the door, knocking insistently. His hands shook, nerves coursing through him as he stared at the door, almost hoping Dan wouldn’t answer.

But then he was staring at Dan. “…hey.”

“Brian? What’s wrong?” Dan frowned. “You’re soaked, come here, let me- “

“I love you,” he blurted, not thinking, watching how Dan froze, maybe in shock, maybe in horror, Brian didn’t care, just kept talking. “I know it’s out of the blue, maybe I just realized it, maybe I’ve known, but I love you. I… ever since we kissed I can’t stop thinking of you. I was torn when we went through that weird phase where we didn’t talk, and I couldn’t figure out why, but it’s because I love you.” Dan still hadn’t said anything, so Brian pressed on. “You don’t have to feel anything for me. I just thought you should know, and it doesn’t have to change anything…”

Dan kissed him. It was brash and sudden, and the rain still poured around them as Dan held Brian’s cheeks, Brian grasping at Dan’s rapidly soaking shirt. His heart pounded as he tilted his head up, squeezing his eyes shut to keep the rain from getting in them. Dan seemed to melt against him, their bodies fitting together perfectly.

“I love you too, you stupid moron,” Dan breathed. He laughed, catching his breath. “I have for so long, I was scared to tell you. When you said you wanted things to go back to normal, god that broke me. I felt so bad, like I was forcing myself on you.”

“I didn’t know that I felt the same way, to be fair.” Brian reached up, pushing Dan’s soaked hair out of his face, silent tears mixing with the rain falling down his face. “I feel so lucky right now.”

Dan grinned. “Come on. I’ll get you a towel, Bri.”

Dan had used that nickname hundreds of times, but this was the first time Brian allowed it to make his heart flutter freely.  
~  
Brian smiled as he kicked one of Hadron’s toys out of the way, carrying a box full of his books into the living room. Dan grinned. “I think this is the last box!”

“Finally.” Brian grinned, setting the box down and opening it. “Now to unpack.”

“Well, we have a half hour or so before the others come to help. I think there are still some boxes in my...” He paused, grinning. “In our bedroom.”

Brian laughed. “You know I’ve practically lived here for months, right?”

“Well, now it’s official!” He hugged Brian around the waist before letting Hadron out of his carrier. “Do you know what today is?”

“Never.”

Dan snorted. “It's been one year since we made out in a rage while on tour!”

“Ah, yes. An important anniversary.” Brian laughed, following Dan into their bedroom. “I can’t believe it took us so long.”

“You were the one who took forever,” Dan teased, reaching to hold Brian’s hand for a moment.

“Was it worth the wait?”

“So worth it.” Dan rested a hand on Brian’s cheek, fingers curling gently around his jawline. “Because I get to do this.” He kissed Brian softly, and Brian could feel his lips curve into a small smile.

Brian allowed himself to be leaned back against the wall, wrapping his arms around Dan’s waist and pulling him closer. “I love you,” he whispered softly.

“I love you too, Brian.” Dan smiled, and Brian swore the sun shone brighter as he pulled him down into another content kiss.

Of course, Hadron decided to wander in and try to jump onto the bed. Except Dan’s bed was higher than Brian’s had been, so he only succeeded in ramming his face into the side of the mattress. He then began to loudly complain, mewing up a storm.

Brian sighed softly, looking up at Dan. “We’ll continue this later?”

“We have the rest of forever to continue.” Dan grinned at him.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” With a content smile, he lifted Hadron onto the bed, letting him get settled before unpacking more boxes. He knew Dan was right.

They’d have each other for the rest of forever.


End file.
